It's really amazing - you get a traffic ticket - show up in court. It's really that farking simple. You might have to pay a fine. In fact, you probably will have to pay a fine. I find it hard to believe that you weren't speeding or didn't actually roll through a stop sign or run a red light. Cops usually don't write frivolous tickets. Sure, they may seem frivolous and I've whined about getting them before but yeah - I was probably guilty in almost every instance.

So here's a few tips:

1: Do not neglect your ticket. Failure to appear will likely mean a warrant will be issued for your arrest.

2: You can just pay the damn thing - yeah, it sucks but like I said above you probably are guilty. Deal with it and remember all those other times you broke the law and got away with it.

3: Show up in court! You might get lucky. In some jurisdictions if the cop doesn't show up your ticket gets dismissed.

4: Talk to the prosecutor. If you go this route, be polite and respectful. This is how I dealt with my last speeding ticket (40 in a 25). I didn't bore the attorney with bullshiat about how the speed limit was unfair (even though I thought it was). I respectfully asked if I could take a defensive driving course instead of paying the fine and getting a black mark on my driving record. She agreed with me. Sure, I had to waste 8 hours in front of my computer taking a stupid defensive driving course, but it cost me $27.95 instead of the $100 fine I was facing and since you can take defensive driving online you can drink if you want. You can read and post on Fark while you're in class.

5: If all else fails, just pay the ticket. They'll even set up a payment plan if you're strapped for cash. Do you really want to get arrested? Because you probably will be if you don't pay your fine or make arrangements with the court system to pay it off even if you only pay $5 a month.

But seriously... my girlfriend was telling me about a friend of hers last night. Her friend didn't pay a speeding ticket, so her license was suspended. Then, she got pulled over and charged with driving with a suspended license. She was fined thousands of dollars and her car was impounded. She ended up losing her job because she couldn't get to work.

So, the state took a $100 fine and turned it into a unemployment/welfare/food stamps recipient. Great work, Virginia.

Give people a financial incentive to imprison and financially penalize people for exaggerated or fabricated reasons, and such abuses will happen.

But, hey, the private sector is inherently more efficient and better and cheaper and never makes mistakes unlike Lazy Union Public Worker Thugs. There's no reason to organize any societal mechanism on anything but a for-profit basis...

Bleyo:But seriously... my girlfriend was telling me about a friend of hers last night. Her friend didn't pay a speeding ticket, so her license was suspended. Then, she got pulled over and charged with driving with a suspended license. She was fined thousands of dollars and her car was impounded. She ended up losing her job because she couldn't get to work.

So, the state took a $100 fine and turned it into a unemployment/welfare/food stamps recipient. Great work, Virginia.

Why do people feel sorry for other people being dumbasses? A friend of mine wrote bad checks then ignored the letters and was shocked she got arrested because of the warrant the store took out. This is the same person who tried to pass herself as her sister who coincidentally had warrants out for her arrest because of unpaid tickets.

But seriously... my girlfriend was telling me about a friend of hers last night. Her friend didn't pay a speeding ticket, so her license was suspended. Then, she got pulled over and charged with driving with a suspended license. She was fined thousands of dollars and her car was impounded. She ended up losing her job because she couldn't get to work.

So, the state took a $100 fine and turned it into a unemployment/welfare/food stamps recipient. Great work, Virginia.

so your girlfriend's friend blew off a speeding ticket and then drove on a suspended license. What the fark did she think was going to happen?

Since you think this is such a travesty of justice, what the fark do you think Virginia should have done instead?

I think any crime punishable with a fine should also allow, at the defendant's request and with a judge's approval, the "fine" to be paid with community service of some sort. I know that a lot of sentences already have both, but I would like the fine to be removed from the equation altogether - even if it means more community service.

But seriously... my girlfriend was telling me about a friend of hers last night. Her friend didn't pay a speeding ticket, so her license was suspended. Then, she got pulled over and charged with driving with a suspended license. She was fined thousands of dollars and her car was impounded. She ended up losing her job because she couldn't get to work.

So, the state took a $100 fine and turned it into a unemployment/welfare/food stamps recipient. Great work, Virginia.

so your girlfriend's friend blew off a speeding ticket and then drove on a suspended license. What the fark did she think was going to happen?

Since you think this is such a travesty of justice, what the fark do you think Virginia should have done instead?

Instead of a multi-thousand dollar fine that ends up forcing a person into unemployment, make her do community service, pay off the $100 speeding ticket, and get back to work.

I'm not saying she's not an idiot. I honestly don't even feel sorry for her. But, I think the state is stupid for spending so much money on her.

steamingpile:Bleyo: But seriously... my girlfriend was telling me about a friend of hers last night. Her friend didn't pay a speeding ticket, so her license was suspended. Then, she got pulled over and charged with driving with a suspended license. She was fined thousands of dollars and her car was impounded. She ended up losing her job because she couldn't get to work.

So, the state took a $100 fine and turned it into a unemployment/welfare/food stamps recipient. Great work, Virginia.

Why do people feel sorry for other people being dumbasses? A friend of mine wrote bad checks then ignored the letters and was shocked she got arrested because of the warrant the store took out. This is the same person who tried to pass herself as her sister who coincidentally had warrants out for her arrest because of unpaid tickets.

I refuse to feel bad for the stupid.

I never said I felt bad for her. She's an idiot.

However, taking a person that owed the state $100 dollars and turning her into a person that needs financial aid from the state is even more idiotic.

I do. I have a shiat-ton of accrued vacation and PTO days, so I can skip a day of work, no problem. I won't fight a ticket if I'm guilty, but I've been ticketed three times that I felt were not warranted. I fought all three, and won all three times. Why would I just accept a fine and points against my license, if I'm not guilty?

James!:some legislators even believed courts should be financially self-sufficient.

That's farking terrible.

On an unrelated note, during the Salem Witch Trials prosecutors and investigators were allowed to collect payment for their work by confiscating the property of the convicted. Which in no way led to abuse, as the Salem Witch Trials are a shining moment in the American justice system.

I do. I have a shiat-ton of accrued vacation and PTO days, so I can skip a day of work, no problem. I won't fight a ticket if I'm guilty, but I've been ticketed three times that I felt were not warranted. I fought all three, and won all three times. Why would I just accept a fine and points against my license, if I'm not guilty?

Why would you do it even if you are guilty? Lawyer up, and they all go away.

Companies like Judicial Correction Services saw an opportunity. They charge public authorities nothing and make their money by adding fees onto the bills of the defendants.

A big reason tax collectors were considered scum for a lot of history is that they had no salary from the state. They just added whatever they thought was reasonable onto the taxes they were collecting. This is the same system. There's pretty much no way for it to not become horribly abusive.

Bleyo:steamingpile: Bleyo: But seriously... my girlfriend was telling me about a friend of hers last night. Her friend didn't pay a speeding ticket, so her license was suspended. Then, she got pulled over and charged with driving with a suspended license. She was fined thousands of dollars and her car was impounded. She ended up losing her job because she couldn't get to work.

So, the state took a $100 fine and turned it into a unemployment/welfare/food stamps recipient. Great work, Virginia.

Why do people feel sorry for other people being dumbasses? A friend of mine wrote bad checks then ignored the letters and was shocked she got arrested because of the warrant the store took out. This is the same person who tried to pass herself as her sister who coincidentally had warrants out for her arrest because of unpaid tickets.

I refuse to feel bad for the stupid.

I never said I felt bad for her. She's an idiot.

However, taking a person that owed the state $100 dollars and turning her into a person that needs financial aid from the state is even more idiotic.

Its even more stupid that she allowed this to happen, anything that is her own fault I don't care about.

steamingpile:Rent Party: steamingpile:/who the hell goes to court for a traffic ticket?//I would lose more money not working than its worth

You go to court for a traffic ticket so you can make the ticket go away.

$300 in lawyer for a $100 ticket may seem like a bad investment, until your insurance company finds out.

Most states in the south only find out if they do a records check and none ever do, the only way they find out is if you tell them so nobody ever does.

Besides any decent lawyer will charge more than $300 to show up in court.

There are lawyers that specialize in nothing other than traffic infractions. Depending on the charge, it will be anywhere from $300 (speeding, etc...) to $1000 (DUI, Negligent, etc...). For the small ones, they always make it go away.

And your insurance company will do a records check. They're a business run by actuarial tables, and your record is a key part of that. If you lie, they can deny you coverage.

I do. I have a shiat-ton of accrued vacation and PTO days, so I can skip a day of work, no problem. I won't fight a ticket if I'm guilty, but I've been ticketed three times that I felt were not warranted. I fought all three, and won all three times. Why would I just accept a fine and points against my license, if I'm not guilty?

I bet the tickets were just but you just played the odds cops wouldn't show up or evidence would be lost.

steamingpile:Its even more stupid that she allowed this to happen, anything that is her own fault I don't care about.

Well, you should probably care about it. The money the state spends on her comes from your pocket. It's in your best interest that people pay the $100 fine instead of using up thousands of tax dollars when they lose their job due to draconian fines.

Bleyo:steamingpile: Its even more stupid that she allowed this to happen, anything that is her own fault I don't care about.

Well, you should probably care about it. The money the state spends on her comes from your pocket. It's in your best interest that people pay the $100 fine instead of using up thousands of tax dollars when they lose their job due to draconian fines.

I find it ironic that governments are supposed to represent the interests of their citizens and offer them protection against corporations using their money to bully the them but are instead colluding with said corporations to harm their citizens to ensure they have the resources to continue their mandated duties.

Corporate Self:I find it ironic that governments are supposed to represent the interests of their citizens and offer them protection against corporations using their money to bully the them but are instead colluding with said corporations to harm their citizens to ensure they have the resources to continue their mandated duties.

Corporations are people.People born in the US are citizens.Corporations are 'born' via incorporation charters.Corporations are citizens.

Why do you hate American citizens expressing their rights to be make a profit at the expense of the riff raff that choose to flaunt the justice system?

so your girlfriend's friend blew off a speeding ticket and then drove on a suspended license. What the fark did she think was going to happen?

This is the same sort of bullsh*t that they do with regards to child support. Not paying enough? Maybe between jobs? They can suspend your license and even toss you in jail. Until you pay, of course.

How the *F* do you pay when you are in jail or can't drive? Oh cry me a river with the 'well you should have thought of that before' type of replies. shiat happens that is out of people's control. Ex's with vendettas. Economies that shrink and grow. Family support that doesn't exist. Maybe she was trying to save money to do something about it, but other problems piled up on her (rent, car broke down, injury or sickness requiring a doctor). Who are we to judge?

To give someone the middle finger because they make a mistake is a way to make society worse, not better. I love it that we forgive wealthy people so easily, but those who struggle? Who cares!

I realize, as a liberal, you'd rather just stick with the article that cherry picks a single southern town rather than read something that might broaden your narrow worldview, but the PDF is worth looking at. States are using the fees as a hidden tax to pay for employees, infrastructure, and whatever else they can - Republicans and Democrats alike.